News & Views

Content posted in November 2022

Connecting Africa Podcast: S2 Ep. 2 – Remittance revolution

Paula Gilbert
11/30/2022

The Connecting Africa Podcast team spoke to SendSprint founder and CEO Damisi Busari about the remittance market and how to improve the experience that Africans in the diaspora have with sending money home.

Safaricom launches M-Pesa Go for youth

Matshepo Sehloho
11/30/2022

Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom has launched a youth-oriented service, M-Pesa Go, which aims to teach digital financial skills to young people.

Podcast: Boeing brings 5G and terrestrial tech to MEO satellites

Connecting Africa Video
11/30/2022

Boeing's Ryan Reid explains how terrestrial telecom technologies are being utilized in the new O3b mPower satellites, which Boeing is manufacturing in partnership with satellite operator SES.

Somalia issues first spectrum license to Hormuud Telecom

Paula Gilbert
11/29/2022

Somalia has issued its first ever spectrum license as it moves forward with plans to formalize the East African nation's telecoms regulatory environment.

Zoho eyes African expansion, adds second SA office

Matshepo Sehloho
11/29/2022

Indian multinational tech company, Zoho, is opening its second office in South Africa as it eyes further expansion in the Middle East and Africa.

Intelsat bringing 5G software-defined network to Africa

Paula Gilbert
11/28/2022

Global satellite services provider Intelsat is building a 5G software-defined network that aims to provide satellite 5G connectivity to Africa by 2025.

Kenya's NCBA eyes M-Shwari expansion deals

Matshepo Sehloho
11/28/2022

Kenyan NCBA Group is reportedly ready to launch mobile phone banking services M-Shwari in Ghana, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

MTN Zambia rolls out commercial 5G

Paula Gilbert
11/25/2022

MTN has officially rolled out its commercial 5G network in Zambia after piloting 5G over the past 11 months.

Hot startup of the month: Mauritius' Ojimah

Matshepo Sehloho
11/25/2022

This month's hot startup is a Mauritian multichannel digital platform, Ojimah, that is on a mission to streamline African travel.

Ghana begins SIM deactivation after court victory

Matshepo Sehloho
11/24/2022

Telcos in Ghana have started deactivating SIM cards that have not completed a mandated registration process and the high court has ruled that the NCA's registration deadline is valid.

Telkom SA will decide on Rain merger by December

Paula Gilbert
11/24/2022

Telkom SA CEO Serame Taukobong said the group will make a decision by the end of 2022 about whether to acquire fellow operator Rain but is still open to buyout discussions with MTN.

Podcast: SES CTO on software-defined satellites

Connecting Africa Video
11/23/2022

CTO Ruy Pinto met up with Light Reading on site at Boeing Satellite in El Segundo, California, earlier this month with an update on the scheduled O3b mPower satellite launch.

Telkom SA earnings drop as costs rise, consumer spending slows

Paula Gilbert
11/23/2022

Telkom South Africa reported lower earnings and revenue for the first half of the financial year, with constrained consumer spending and rising operating costs, including load shedding, to blame.

Ghana's Zeepay to use ThetaRay's AI to monitor transfers

Matshepo Sehloho
11/23/2022

Ghanaian mobile financial services company Zeepay has partnered with Israeli ThetaRay to use its AI solutions to monitor remittance transactions coming into Africa.

Chipper Cash to acquire Zambian fintech Zoona

Matshepo Sehloho
11/22/2022

Pan African cross-border payment solutions unicorn company Chipper Cash is set to acquire Zambian fintech company Zoona Transactions International.

Africa has fastest growing fixed broadband market – Omdia

Paula Gilbert
11/22/2022

The Africa Broadband Outlook 2022 report from Omdia shows that Africa's fixed broadband market has recorded the strongest growth rate in the world over the past five years.

Uganda to borrow $140M to improve Internet services

Connecting Africa News
11/21/2022

Uganda's Parliament has approved a US$140 million loan with funds earmarked for a major digital project to improve Internet connectivity in the East Africa nation.

OneWeb expands African satellite reach

Paula Gilbert
11/18/2022

Global telecoms and satellite provider OneWeb is growing its presence in Africa, announcing three partnership deals on the continent during November 2022.

Interview: Fadi Pharaon on Ericsson's 5G rollout in Africa

Sponsored Video
11/18/2022

President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, Fadi Pharaon, spoke to Connecting Africa at the Africa Tech Festival about trends that Ericsson is seeing in the industry and the status of 5G on the continent.

Podcast: What's the Story? All SES wants for Christmas are MEO satellites

Connecting Africa Video
11/18/2022

Connecting Africa's Paula Gilbert interviews Light Reading's Kelsey Ziser about her recent tour of Boeing's satellite facility and meeting with SES.

Ethio Telecom partial sale back on, new telecoms license to be issued

Matshepo Sehloho
11/17/2022

Ethiopia has reopened the process of selling a 40% stake in state-owned Ethio Telecom and a separate plan to issue a second independent telecoms license.

Angola Cables' unit Telcables enters Nigerian market

Matshepo Sehloho
11/16/2022

Angola Cables has launched a new unit called Telcables which has entered the Nigerian and West African market to offer ICT solutions.

Africa Tech Festival 2022 highlights in pictures

Connecting Africa News
11/16/2022

Photo highlights from the Africa Tech Festival 2022 which saw over 12,000 attendees return to the physical event in Cape Town, South Africa.

Kenya's central bank provides 50% discount to digital defaulters

Matshepo Sehloho
11/15/2022

The Central Bank of Kenya has implemented a Credit Repair Framework to encourage digital defaulters to repair their credit records.

Vodacom half-year earnings impacted by Ethiopia startup costs

Paula Gilbert
11/14/2022

Despite revenue growing, Vodacom Group saw interim earnings decline as startup costs from its new network in Ethiopia and higher finance costs impacted overall profit.

Orange launches 5G in Botswana

Paula Gilbert
11/11/2022

Orange's new commercial 5G network in Botswana is the company's first in Africa, with six more countries in the pipeline for 2023.

ATF 2022: Vanu expands reach with Orange deal in West Africa

Paula Gilbert
11/11/2022

Off-grid equipment and solutions provider Vanu has announced a deal with pan-African operator Orange to provide connectivity in rural areas in Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Liberia.

ATF 2022: Government departments need digital training

Matshepo Sehloho
11/10/2022

Mafikeng Digital Innovation Hub CEO, Joseph Ndaba, told Africa Tech Festival that African government departments need more training to understand emerging technologies.

ATF 2022: Affordable broadband key to creating more African unicorns – Liquid

Paula Gilbert
11/10/2022

Nic Rudnick, group deputy executive chairperson of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, told Africa Tech Festival that Africa needs affordable, uncapped broadband to be able to move from being a consumer of tech to unicorn-level creators of innovation.

ATF 2022: Liquid spends $20M on new SDN enterprise offering

Paula Gilbert
11/9/2022

Liquid Intelligent Technologies division, Liquid Dataport, plans to invest around US$20 million over three years for a new Software Defined Network (SDN) offering for enterprises.

ATF 2022: Regulators must either close down or change their name – Andile Ngcaba

Matshepo Sehloho
11/9/2022

During a panel discussion at Africa Tech Festival 2022, Convergence Partners founder Andile Ngcaba urged African governments to be enablers for digital transformation and not develop hindering regulations.

Broadband Africa: Public servants must champion broadband expansion

Matshepo Sehloho
11/8/2022

During his presentation at Broadband Africa ahead of Africa Tech Festival 2022, African Telecommunications Union Secretary-General, John Omo, said public servants need to be held to account on commitments they make during the conference.

SA's Isizwe launches Kayamandi low-cost prepaid fiber project

Paula Gilbert
11/7/2022

South African Internet company Isizwe has launched a prepaid, low-cost fiber network in the Kayamandi township in Stellenbosch, with ambitions to roll out connectivity to tens of thousands of previously unconnected residents and spread similar projects across Africa.

Paratus partners with OneWeb to build satellite gateway in Angola

Matshepo Sehloho
11/4/2022

Paratus Angola has signed a multi-year agreement with global telecommunications provider, OneWeb, to build a satellite gateway in Luanda, Angola.

Accelerating Africa's business opportunities with an adaptable 5G

Partner Perspectives
11/3/2022

Connecting Africa sat down with Red Hat Principal Product Marketing Manager, Rob McManus, to talk about how telecommunications service providers can embrace new technology to better capitalize on the opportunities presented by 5G. #sponsored

Future proof your business with integrated customer experience

Partner Perspectives
11/3/2022

Connecting Africa sat down with Digital Solutions Group Founder and Group CEO Yaron Assabi to talk about how the company is delivering an integrated customer experience. #sponsored

Connecting Africa Podcast: S2 Ep. 1 – Talent wars

Paula Gilbert
11/3/2022

The Connecting Africa Podcast is back with a new season. We welcome new co-host Matshepo Sehloho to the team and discuss Africa's tech skills pipeline and the battle between startups and global tech giants to recruit and keep African talent.

Dolphin Telecoms gets MVNO license in Zimbabwe

Matshepo Sehloho
11/3/2022

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has awarded Dolphin Telecoms a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) license.

AWS to open office in Nigeria

Paula Gilbert
11/2/2022

Nigeria will become the second African country with an Amazon Web Services (AWS) office, with plans for a Lagos office announced by the cloud giant.

Mastercard eyes African fintech potential

Paula Gilbert
11/2/2022

Mastercard VP Muhammad Nana spoke with Connecting Africa on the sidelines of MWC Africa about the growth potential in Africa's fintech sector and how Mastercard is partnering and investing in local fintech companies.

Microsoft expands cloud services in South African data centers

Matshepo Sehloho
11/2/2022

Microsoft data centers in South Africa will now provide Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform online services that will support local businesses.

MTN, Sanlam receive approvals for insurtech partnership

Paula Gilbert
11/1/2022

Sanlam and MTN Group's insurtech alliance to distribute digital insurance and investment products across Africa has finally kicked off following regulatory approval.

Uber Kenya cuts commission to 18% after driver protest

Matshepo Sehloho
11/1/2022

Uber Kenya has cut the commission it charges drivers on fares per trip from 25% to 18% and has received its transport network license in the East African nation.

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Hot startup of the month: Rwanda's Smart Ikigega

This month's hot startup, Smart Ikigega, wants to revolutionize the rural agricultural trade ecosystem in Rwanda by helping farmers access finance and harvest insurance.

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Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

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Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

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Challenges and opportunities for women's tech careers

A new survey reveals that COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis, skills shortages and a lack of mentorship have negatively affected women's career development over the past two years.

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Survey: Opportunities for Women in Tech

Take our new survey for women across Asia, Europe and Africa looking at the biggest challenges and opportunities for women-led enterprises and trends in tech careers for women.

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Omdia View: July 2022

By Omdia Analysts

Kenya and Zambia move towards 5G with new spectrum allocations while Tunisie Telecom plans to shut down its 3G network - that and more in this month's Omdia View.

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Omdia View: June 2022

By Omdia Analysts

5G was the major news trend across Africa in June, as Orange became the first operator to launch 5G in Réunion and operators in Senegal accelerated their 5G plans despite spectrum delays.

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